The 1950's Universal Genève Monodatic

Vintage watches can bring out so many different emotions in someone deeply invested in wearing, learning and experiencing them. Sometimes it is pure excitement, other times it is curiosity or amazement. Universal Genève is brand that certain pulls out those types of emotions. Typically, vintage watch collectors stumble upon the uni-compax or tri-compax chronographs or even the Polerouters from the watch house, and rightfully so. These watches play a hugely important role in defining what the brand was able to accomplish. The Monodatic is another example of exactly that fact, but is seem just a bit less often on collectors wrists.

The Monodatic’s were first produced in the late 1940’s and had a simple goal in mind; to display the date. The watches were produced alongside the famous chronographs and Polerouters but don’t get as much attention. The Monodatic today dates to the 1950’s and is a great example of what the watch house was able to produce. The watch has a gold, 36mm case with a white, silver dial. The dial has a few features that make it stand out. Firstly, it has a circle of dots that create almost a ‘two-tone’ design of the dial. The dots are actually imprinted on the dial which is quite facilitating for a watch. There are also dots that line the sub-dial at 6 o’clock which has the seconds counter. The seconds counter is also depressed into the dial giving the dial even more depth.

The watch then has the date complication at 3 o’clock. Normally, we see square windows used to display this complication, but instead, we have a circular window which is outlined in gold. The various dots, circles, and use of depth really give this watch a unique look to it. Coupled with gold applied hour markers and hour/minute hands, it truly is a fun watch to look at. At 36mm it is fairly wearable, which is furthered by the spider-like lugs that extend nicely from the watch.

Now, let’s talk about the movement. The watch is running on the caliber 138C bumper automatic movement. This movement is the first iteration of an automatic movement and was even used in the famous Polerouters of this era. The brand quickly replaced the 138C after just one year of producing it and replaced it with the caliber 215, which featured a micro rotor. This movement obviously powered the iconic Polerouters that are extremely sought after. Nevertheless, the caliber 138C is clearly a stepping stone in the history of the brand and significant part of their innovation into the automatic movements.

The watch is on a gold stretch bracelet, which does not really do the watch justice. As with many watches, this is perfect for straps. One could play with the gold accents on the dial, or even go for something less obvious because of the simplicity of the dial colour.

The watch is available on our store here.

Enjoy!